Are We There Yet?

How about now?  Now?

Well, the good news is:    It won't be long! 

And now that the sign is up it feels "official" somehow (and slightly terrifying.)

Dan assisting Dave from The Drawing Board - that thing is HUGE!

There have been the usual setbacks in the last few weeks - slow moving stainless equipment, wrong oven, wrong cabinet dimensions, "forgotten" counter tops, a leaky hood, a too tall tea bar -  BUT we are moving forward towards our Softly, Softly Opening in just a few weeks.

The Great Wall of T ea

The sexy fireplace!

One of the seating areas.

Wrangling the fridge.

A veritable hive of strapping lads.

In she goes (just)

The stainless stuff finally arrives.

You should see what else they fitted in there!

My Adored Bakers and Mavens are patiently waiting in the wings, ready to lavish their attention on you the second the door opens.  And if some of you like to live dangerously we'll be needing a few  Crash Test Customers  to practice on the week of August 6th. Click on the orange link to send me an email and we'll see about signing you up for some free tea and fabulous baked goodies.  No need for helmets - we'll be gentle.

Bob and Kevin, painters extraordinaires.  I'll miss you chaps!

Countdown

A lot of people have been asking me how I'm doing these days.  It could be the bags under my eyes or the strange bump that's appeared on my cheek bone which someone suggested might be a bite.  Great.  Another thing to think about in the wee small hours.  Are there any poisonous spiders in the Pacific Northwest? Will I feel better or worse if I know the answer to this?

Okay, thank you for asking.  Here's how I'm doing.  Last night I dreamed that Hilary Clinton begged me to cater a Lutheran Wedding.  There were meatballs involved.  That's how I'm doing.

We have set the date for Opening!  I'm not telling you when that is!  Mainly because the minute I do something else will happen to push it back another week.  Stainless steel seems to figure prominently in the latest delay ....

I will tell you I am putting together a supremely talented TEAm of Mavens and Bakers.

The kitchen floor is down (it's ugly, I hate it) the sexy fireplace is in (it's gorgeous, I love it) and the painting will be finished this week (I have no idea - you'll tell me when you see it.)

In the meantime,

 Well, kinda, sorta. 

Color Me Confused

Remember the '80s?  We were all getting our colors done.

I was Autumn.  I was told that yellow is not a good color for me, which is fine as I don't particularly like yellow - or summer, come to think of it.  But I was also told to stay away from blue, orange, grey, black, pink, purple, turquoise and beige.  Which left me dark brown, rusty red, olive green and white.  Is it any wonder that I'm color challenged?

If you read about the trials of getting the outside of the building painted, brace yourselves, because it's all downhill from here.  We officially moved on to the interior this week, and Bob and Kevin have already demonstrated an unbelievable amount of patience, tact and restraint.

All my desperate attempts to find a color - any color - I didn't hate.

Really, I think these two could moonlight as marriage counselors.  I'm not naming names (and neither are they) but it has been known that couples come to blows over paint color selection.

Fortunately I learned my lesson from the exterior paint episode and made sure Dan was involved in the final selection - even if it did involve endless variations on the shade of beige - which, as we already know, is NOT my color.

On a more positive note, the Mexican Beach Pebbles are in and the courtyard garden is officially done! Here are the Before, During and After photos so you can judge for yourself.

It turns out math is not my strong point either as I miscalculated how much 3 tons of pebbles would cover.  I was a little short and had to stretch them which meant filling my pockets on every beach walk. and staggering over to the courtyard afterwards.  But Leo has earned a place right up there alongside firemen and cowboys in my book as he's sending me the needed extra pebbles (another 100 lbs.) for free. All the clotted cream you can eat Leo!







 

 

 

 
The World Tea Expo in Las Vegas was as wonderful and weird as ever - wonderful to be among so many people excited about tea, and to taste fabulous teas from all over the world, including New Zealand (who knew?)  Those clever Kiwis have been quietly cultivating some fabulous teas in Middle Earth.  I gave them the secret Antipodean handshake so hopefully we'll be one of the first in the U.S. to carry their teas.

Other new and exciting products have been ordered, including tea infused chocolate truffles, which, like all the teas, I made sure were going to be good enough for you, my adored future customers.

The weird part is, well, Las Vegas itself, which I wrote about after last year's Tea Expo (click here if you want to see my photos.)  We actually had a record temperature for the 1st of June - 107 degrees.  In 3 days I spent probably a total of 30 minutes outdoors, and that involved getting from one air conditioned space to another. 

Next week we'll be advertizing for CelebriTea Bakers and Future Tea Mavens (FYI, men can be mavens too)  so things are really getting close.  The sofas and chairs have arrived, the sexy fireplace goes in next week, the cabinets will be installed the week after, the kitchen equipment is being mustered and Hilary's room is disappearing.

But back to paint for a moment.  I want to know who it is who comes up with paint names. Perhaps it's where all the B.A.s end up in this dismal job market.  Fair enough, there are a few names that have some basis in reality, especially when they tack on a helpful hint like Woodstock Tan or Revere Pewter.  (American History major?)  But who looks at a color and thinks "That is most definitely Interlude.  And that one strikes me as Pensive." (Eng. Lit/Poetry major?) They're all beige to me, and guess which one is going on our walls?  Stay tuned!

And I'll finish with this shot of the front of the store.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you might be able to see what that yellow poster is all about .....

Okay, maybe you can't read it - but here's a hint:  "Would you care for a glass of champagne after your tea?"

Ridin' The Rhody

                                         It's the Rhododendron Festival again!

Last year I was robbed of my chance to ride in the 1955 fire engine by a little kid.

It shoulda been me!

At this year's Rotary Fundraiser Auction I was determined to win it. I partnered with Judith  Deacon to tag team the bidding.  We were told to "hover" during the final minutes of bidding but I found that simply sitting on the bid sheet was a far more effective strategy.

Judith and I got to "Ride the Rhody."

Our Back Up band - they were terrific!

I'm not sure which was the most thrilling - being in the parade or being in such close proximity to so many handsome, strapping firemen.  Judith and I got as close to as many as we could, but for some reason only the most experienced ones were able to pose with us.

Here's the winning float this year: The Car Wash, which the fabulous Dotty Flowers (best name ever!) - a recent arrival from Key West where they know something about parades and floats - helped design.

So, this is the one we have to beat.  I've stolen/bribed/cajoled Ms. Flowers and work is already starting on the design for the Pippa's Real Tea  float for the Rhody Parade 2013.  (And you know there will be boas involved!)

Meanwhile, work is galloping along on the store front.  Lon Michalski from Islander Drywall whipped up the walls in record time and suddenly it's starting to look like a real store.

Frank has finished repairing the brick courtyard

and Sean Hamill and Hunter have the garden all primped and ready for the Mexican Beach Pebbles which are arriving this week (yay Leo!)

The back of this old building is looking pretty fabulous.  Final Before and After pics next time!

And Bob has worked hard putting lipstick on the face of this old girl so her front is as pretty as her rear.

 

If you haven't signed up yet for the Customer Adoration Sweepstakes  it's time you did.  Winners announced June 15!

Next week Shannon and I are off to the World Tea Expo held each summer in (where else?) Las Vegas.  This year marks the 10th Anniversary Expo and should be bigger and better than ever.  I am signed up to participate in the first ever U.S. Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony.  A full report will follow!

If you listen closely you can hear SusanWhitmire pointing out to a painfully aware Hilary "That's your mother!"  and Hilary's response "I know."

Lads Up Ladders

David from Tracy's Insulation

 It's been a busy couple of weeks.  Lads up ladders all over the place.

Steve from Marvin Painting

Ron from Frederickson Electric

Austin and Kevin from Marvin Painting up a very big ladder indeed.  Okay, fine, it's scaffolding.

Bob, owner of Marvin Painting.  Wait till you see how he and his crew have

 tarted up this old building.

Dan with mock ups of light fixtures - a little to the left?  A bit higher?

Both the inside and outside are slowly being transformed.  The Marvelous Ed from Upstairs has nearly finished the fence and I have moved on to the War on Dirty Bricks.

Looks strangely like a map of the Middle East ....

Not all the improvements to the building are visible.  My friend Frost conducted a Native American Blessing Ceremony which was one of the most moving gifts I've ever received.  She helped Terry, Shannon and me purify the space and disperse any negative energy that might be lingering.  Considering the past of the building (brothel/bar/burned out bawdy house) and the number of crimes committed on the waterfront in the old days, there may have been a bit of that about. 

You can clearly see the roof outlines of the original wooden buildings that were attached to the brick building.  The Franklin House was billed as the "first fireproof hotel" in Port Townsend.  Obviously there was some truth to the fireproof claim - the "hotel" part may have been a stretch (unless the term "hot sheets hotel" was in use back then.)  The Tea Room extends to the wooden part that didn't burn down, and was probably where a lot of the bawdy action took place.  Port Townsend had a reputation every bit as notorious as San Francisco's Barbary Coast.

Port Townsend in its very early days.  Looks harmless enough....

We welcomed good energy and blessings upon the building and the Tea Room by burning sweetgrass and setting off every fire alarm in the place - but hey, nice to know they work now.  And that's not all that worked.  Claudia and Ed From Upstairs got some good news that very evening that was directly related to them living in this building.  Thank you Frost!

We're about to launch the Customer Adoration Page along with the Pippa's Real Tea Facebook page.  If you "like" us on Facebook you can enter the Customer Adoration Sweepstakes - 50 Facebook fans will get 50% off their first online or in-store order (such a deal!) Names will be drawn June 16th.

Here's a link to the page if you're one of those sad people who don't have a  smart phone, or one of the sadder ones (like me) who have one but don't know what to do with it:                  PippasRealTea

Believe it or not, some people who have seen this in the window have actually asked if it was me.  What can I say?  I scrubbed up nicely in my early days.